Tag Archives: colleen mathis

Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission Chairwoman Colleen Mathis responded Monday for the first time about allegations that she violated open meeting laws, acknowledging that she spoke with two Republican commissioners about a mapping consultant but denying that the conversations were illegal or improper.

Democratic leadership from both chambers of the Legislature promised to file a complaint that the testimony to the committee represents a violation of the prohibition against state employees being involved in partisan political or election-related activity.

Attorney General Tom Horne will no longer be able to pursue an open meeting law investigation into members of the Independent Redistricting Commission, as a Maricopa County Superior Court judge has ruled the attorney general is saddled with an existing conflict of interest.

Despite objections about a lack of competitiveness, divisions of like-minded communities and concerns that some regions were given more consideration than others, the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission approved a draft legislative map, one day before it begins a 30-day series of public hearings.

The constitutional language that governs the IRC is very clear that the panel cannot draw its maps with the homes of incumbents or candidates in mind, but some railbirds were left scratching their heads after seeing that the IRC draft congressional map made significant changes that directly affected a handful of incumbents and candidates.

Scores of angry Pinal County residents showed up at the IRC’s meeting on Friday to complain about their county being split into five separate districts, a move that led Mathis to spend the weekend redrawing the lines to put Pinal into just two districts, not counting a sliver of Tohono O’odham land in the southwest corner of the county.

The Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission today approved a congressional draft map that includes a competitive district in the middle of the Phoenix area, voting 3-1 over objections from the two Republican members.
Independent Chairwoman Colleen Mathis and Democratic Commissioners Jose Herrera and Linda McNulty voted for the map, while Republican Commissioner Richard Stertz voted against it.